An Android display is shown at last year's Google I/O conference in San Francisco. / Paul Sakuma, AP

by Mike Schuster, Minyanville

by Mike Schuster, Minyanville

Last week, Apple unveiled the latest incarnation of its mobile operating system, iOS 7. The response was decidedly mixed, with users and critics welcoming a long overdue update to the OS but bemoaning the Easter-colored M&M icons, the inconsistent UI, and an overall look and feel that was wholly lifted from Android and Windows Phone.

But as Apple has taken some cues from its competitors, it appears that Google has been doing the same from Apple. Not in terms of style, but rather by exacting a greater sense of control over its mobile platform and adding a dash of secrecy to boot.

Earlier this month, Google tipped its hand at a larger plan to reclaim the "pure Nexus experience" from the sluggish hands of mobile carriers. At the company's I/O conference, instead of unveiling a brand-new Nexus handset, Google announced that two of its flagship Android phones -- Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S4 and the HTC One -- would soon be available as unlocked devices running the stock Android OS. That means both phones could run on both AT&T and T-Mobile networks but not be at the mercy of either carrier's slothful upgrade rollouts. (Although neither holds a candle to Verizon "icebergian" updates to its devices. That, and the differing chipset, could mean we might not ever see another Nexus device released on Verizon's network again.)

The move was significant because while the Galaxy S4 and HTC One are arguably the best devices ever released for Android, their upgrade cycles would always be in flux due to each carrier's proprietary software running atop of stock Android. In fact, the HTC One was released without the latest version of Android installed, which is a testament to Google's inability to control how carriers treat its devices. Considering it could be months between Google's release of the upgraded software and the point when the carrier finally rolls it out to a user's specific device, that "pure Nexus experience" is wholly ruined for the end user. (How ya holdin' up, Verizon Galaxy Nexus users?) However, by releasing them unlocked and running an unskinned stock Android OS, they effectively become Nexus devices themselves and the interim between software updates and final installation is greatly diminished.

But even for Android users who aren't running unlocked devices, software upgrades are becoming less of a concern.

During Google's I/O conference, the company released its stock keyboard to the Google Play store. Although that seems like a minor move, it's a very important one. Along with the stock keyboard, Google's fleet of core Android apps is now largely available to users from its online marketplace and not intrinsically tied to each OS. That allows Google to make updates, however small, to each app and roll them out to users without having to release a complete OS upgrade every few months or so. And fewer major OS releases mean fewer delays -- and less control -- at the hands of mobile carriers.

Aside from Google's loosely perimetered "walled garden," Android 4.2.2 (aka Jelly Bean) can also afford a little breathing room before a new version. We are past the point in Google's update cycle where a new Android version would be unveiled and released every six to seven months or so. And while Android 4.3 has been spotted in the wild, its release isn't nearly as necessary as when users were running 2.3 Gingerbread or even 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. (Although far too many users still are, but you can thank the carriers for that.) Jelly Bean is Google's most powerful and smoothly polished mobile OS to date, and users on the latest release aren't clamoring for an upgrade just yet. Combined with the rolling release of app updates, an upgrade from 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is even more inessential. So what used to be new versions released biannually can now potentially be a single annual upgrade for each version, Cupertino-style.

But what about that update cycle? When is Google planning on releasing that 4.3 update? Is it going to be dubbed Key Lime Pie or still retain the Jelly Bean nickname? And what about a new Nexus phone? Is one even underway given the unlocked Galaxy S4 and HTC One? As a matter of fact, who would even make it? LG Corp made the Nexus 4 -- the most recent Nexus device -- but announced it wouldn't be making the next one. So who is it? Samsung? HTC? Motorola?

Google ain't sayin'.

It's decidedly Apple-like for Google to remain mum on the future of Android. Mountain View isn't nearly as secretive as Cupertino, but this new, slightly clandestine nature could be a byproduct of greater control over its products and indicate more irons in the mobile-landscape fire.

Android has come a long way since its extremely humble beginnings, and Google is showing some swagger with the way it has treated it. Fragmentation due to carrier delay and proprietary software is still a huge problem, but it appears that the company is making strides in wresting control away from them. With time, maybe, every Android user will enjoy the Nexus experience on a pure stock Android device with an upgrade cycle unmitigated by the clumsy hands of carriers.